Emily P's homemade mince pies

> Well, what can I say? Delicious, I've been saving the best till
> last! Dix points :-)
>
> Happy Christmas all

Emily P's homemade mince pies

Bath Bakery mince pie - take 2

I've just had another of these mince pies and I think my first review was possibly a bit generous, unlike their filling. On the basis that although the pastry is delicious there's too much of it and not enough filling I'm going to downgrade this to an 8 pie rating... Sorry Bath Bakery!

Darling Deli mince pie

Definitely hand made! But let down by overly hard pastry. And they're small... So a rather dissapointing 6 pie rating I reckon :-(

Bath Bakery mince pie

So you wait weeks without a review then two come along on the same day! Can't be bad eh, a double mince pie day...! and it's only Tuesday! So this was a bit of a surprise, a little pressie from my wife who thinks I'm totally mad writing this (actually I think she said sad, but who'll be laughing when I achieve fame and fortune with a million pound book deal because of this blog).

Anyway, the mince pie in question comes from the Bath Bakery, which has a shop just down the road from where we live. No six pack here, just a plain old fashioned mince pie in a white paper bag. It's quite flat as you can see from the pic (ie. you can't see the side) (PS. Nice pic eh? An improvement on the Data Strategy etc. backdrops of past photos I think you'll agree ;^) Definitely a homemade look... And definitely a homemade taste -delicious! The pastry is the best I've tasted so far, firm, almost shortbready... lovely... the filling is, well, like filling really, tasty. But too be honest it could have done with a bit more, but with the pies so low-slung it's all they could fit in. So, time for the six million dollar question... what's the rating? Well I reckon the pastry pushes it up from an 8 to a 9, so well done the Bath Bakery, nice one! Just make it a bit bigger and it might get a 10 next time! Recommended.

Asda rich fruit mince pie

Well the packaging wasn't terribly inspiring but the pies themselves, and after all that's what we're here for, look very nice. The pastry is rather soft, but that's something it shares in common with almost all of the mainstream mince pies, but the mincemeat is tasty, so overall I'm going to give it a 7 pie rating - not bad overall...

Tim

co-operative truly irresistible luxury all butter mince pie

Well, they certainly look nice, and they taste pretty good too. But the first thing you notice when you open the celophane wrapper is a whiff of alcohol - nice! And the first-bite test doesn't disappoint either - the pastry is soft and buttery and you can certainly taste the brandy in the mincemeat. So a resounding thumbs up from me, but my esteemed colleague Sandra is yet to try one. In fact she's definitely slacking on the mince pie testing front - I don't recall a single entry from her... but I digress, it's time for the moment of reckoning... and I reckon it deserves a 9 pie rating! Well done the co-op. Of course, this doesn't leave a lot of room for another mince pie to score higher, but unless anyone delivers us (as in the case of the lucky Test Match Special commentators) some home made mince pies, or indeed Fortnums or Harrods mince pies, I rather suspect that a maximum of 10 pie points will be sufficient!

co-operative deep filled mince pies

The "vanilla" mince pie, if that makes sense! ie. the no frills basic model. But it does its job well, they're tasty, look nice (apart from the odd spot where the filling has seeped through the pastry, but that in itself is a good sign - it means they're full!), and £1.60 for two packets of six is a pretty good price. So overall, a 7 pie rating from me.

Tim

Sainsburys Ecclefechan tart

Ok, so it's not stictly a mince pie, but who am I to refuse one of Sandra's festive offerings? It looks a bit odd (btw, apologies for the blurry pictures, but the iPhone camera I'm using doesn't have a macro setting), but tastes pretty good. However I don't think the humble mice pie need worry too much about being usurped from the festive 11 o'clock plate, as even though they're pretty nice, they're not widely known about. So overall, I'm going to give it a 6 pie rating...

Tim

M&S Luxury Deep Filled Mince Pie

Well, here it is, my first review and I have to say, I'm not hugely impressed. For starters once you take your first bite you'll be rather disappointed by the large amount of air under the lid! I hate that - promising more than it delivers!

The pastry is ok though it's missing any icing sugar sprinkled on top, and the mincemeat is somewhat bitter.

So my final verdict - an underwhelming 5 pie rating (out of 10). Let's hope our next choice is better!

Tim

Well, it's that time of year again...

...when the shops are full of the good, the bad and the ugly. No, I'm not talking about my fellow Bathonians, I'm talking about... wait for it... yes, MINCE PIES! Fantastic! It's just too bad they're not available all year round 'cos here at Aszent Towers we love them! Well, most of them... Actually I enjoy pretty much all of them, Sandra's the discerning one!

Anyway, make yourself a nice cup of coffee and join us in our second annual mince pie taste-testathon - it's sure to be a thrilling ride!

Coming up shortly will be our first review of the year - M&S Luxury Deep Filled Mince Pies...

I bet you can't wait.

Enjoy, and thanks for reading.

Tim